Urbandale, IA (PRWEB) December 17, 2014
View the technology action plan
Today, Governor Branstad, Connected Nation President Tom Ferree, and local officials recognized Urbandale for becoming Connect Iowa’s eighth Certified Connected Community in the state and completing its technology action plan. The City of Urbandale and the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce worked to move this initiative forward.
“We are pleased about Connect Iowa's effort and the collaboration it has engendered among the different agencies throughout the region,” said Branstad. "Lt. Governor Reynolds and I are passionate about increasing access, adoption, and the use of broadband technology in Iowa. I commend Urbandale on completing the extensive assessment and planning process in order to be recognized as a Certified Connected Community. I am confident that the community will use this designation to increase the robust economic development efforts in Urbandale.”
The City of Urbandale has been working since January with Connect Iowa on the Connected Community Engagement Program. This initiative assesses the local broadband landscape, identifies gaps, and establishes goals and objectives to increase broadband access, adoption, and use for families, organizations, and businesses throughout the community. The City of Urbandale was able to meet the point requirements necessary to achieve the Certified Connected Community status.
“The city's investments in infrastructure reflect our commitment to building a strong foundation for economic development,” said Urbandale Mayor Robert Andeweg. “This certification validates Urbandale as a great place to invest in and lays out a path to offer even more value to businesses.”
“The collaborative effort that went into achieving this designation for our city was impressive. It reflects the way Urbandale operates: public and private, business and non-profit pulling together to make the community a better place to work and live,” added A. J. Johnson, Urbandale city manager.
"On behalf of Connect Iowa, we're excited to help celebrate Urbandale's success to date through our Connected community program and congratulate the Urbandale Broadband Committee on achieving certification. Clearly the city has done a great job in planning for and supporting broadband-related projects in recent years and now also has a forum and structure for planning future improvements for the community," said Connect Iowa Community Technology Advisor Dan Manning.
For more information about the project or to join the Connected community technology team, please contact Connect Iowa at info(at)connectiowa(dot)org.
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Photo: From left, Chamber Executive Director Tiffany Menke, Chamber President John Irving, Governor Branstad, Mayor Andeweg, and City Manager Johnson accept the award as Urbandale becomes the 8th Certified Connected Community in Iowa on December 17 at Urbandale City Hall.
About Connect Iowa: Connect Iowa is a subsidiary of Connected Nation and operates as a nonprofit in the state of Iowa to promote broadband access, adoption, and use. The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) is leading the initiative to increase broadband Internet access throughout rural Iowa. Connect Iowa was commissioned by the state to work with all broadband providers in Iowa to create detailed maps of broadband coverage and develop a statewide plan for the deployment and adoption of broadband. For more information visit: http://www.connectiowa.org.
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Connected Nation developed the Connected Community Engagement Program to help guide a community through an assessment of its overall broadband and technology status. Connected certified communities have measurably demonstrated their proficiency for effective Access, Adoption, and Use of broadband-supported technologies. Connected Nation through its partners provides a national platform for recognizing those communities that excel across these important benchmarks. Funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), this effort is part of the State Broadband Initiative. http://www.connectednation.org/get-connected
